The Back Street — Restaurant in Scotland

We visited on Saturday evening 3 Feb '24 after reading reviews on here we were excited to visit. On arrival the atmosphere was pleasant and it was full. Our waitress seated us even though we were early which was good of her.To drink we chose the house red wine which was excellent. Our starter was the scotch egg which was excellent and quite substantial. We could see various meals being served all looked quite substantial. I chose the slow cooked neck of lamb served with a garlic& butter bean mash. My partner chose the Guinea fowl and cubed potatoes. When it arrived I was happy with the presentation but my first taste I literally spat it out. The amount of salt was overpowering and the whole plate tasted the same. I asked the waitress to return it to the kitchen and explained why. In that time I tasted my partner's food. His potatoes were also over salty to the point he couldn't eat them. He wasn't over impressed with his meal either saying it was overcooked. 10 mins later she returned apologised saying the lamb was brined hence it's taste. I explained that there was no mention of this on the menu and that the whole plate was too salty. Her response was to offer me something else. Why on earth would I then re order to wait for it to cook and then eat separately to my partner? I politely declined explaining why but the waitress although pleasant was young & inexperienced. My partner then ordered a dessert of rice pudding which much to our amazement was undercooked with hard grains of rice. My partner doesn't like to make a fuss so ate it. I did wonder if it was a one off so descreetly asked another diner having the same if her's was cooked, she said it wasn't! I chose not to have anything else as I was so disappointed. The waitress' response when we complained on paying was that we hadn't been charged for my main meal!! I certainly wasn't intending paying for a meal I could not eat. My personal opinion might not matter to the staff but hopefully it'll matter to other diners.

The premises are also located up 2 flights of stairs which would not be suitable for disabled access. The toilets were...

On a recent trip to visit an old friend in Dumfries we decided to take a jaunt into town for some dinner. Fortunately my friend had the presence of mind to book a table as this hidden gem of a restaurant was fully booked (all socially distanced & covid compliant). Sadly due to said covid rules alcohol was not permitted indoors so we went for a selection of mocktails rather than a nice bottle of wine. Mocktails we’re all very tasty, I especially enjoyed the pomegranate one - can’t remember the full, fancy name. For starter I had mozzarella dippers that were exquisitely made - a nice fluffy batter with a lovely, stringy mozzarella inside. For mains I had the macaroni (I was clearly in the mood for cheese in hindsight…). The presentation was excellent - looking almost like a piece of abstract artwork. Almost felt wrong to ruin it by eating it but needs must, I was hungry. It was delicious and very nicely seasoned. For desert I opted for some sorbet as I always find it to be an excellent palate-cleanser. Really was a very enjoyable evening and meal. Reasonably priced also. For two 3 course meals & a selection of drinks it came in at under £60. If you are from the area or passing through I would recommend this restaurant in the highest order. I’ll...

Absolutely incredible.

My family of 4 came to the Back Street to celebrate the end of our holiday in the Dumfries area. After seeing the very positive reviews about the Haggis scotch egg it's fair to say we were more than a little bit excited to try the place out. And I can tell you it did not disappoint.

The food was absolutely delicious, everything was well presented with good portion sizes. The flavours and smell of everything we had was amazing. My vegetarian mum had spent the whole holiday struggling to find food that wasn't flavourless and had a variety of texture to it. The Back Street achieved this for her and she said it was the best meal she's had in a long time.

Along with the delicious food came absolutely incredible customer service. The waitresses were extremely polite and helpful throughout the evening. The atmosphere of the place was also excellent, my family pointing out that not a single person in the restaurant looked sad and there were smiles all around.

It's a shame we don't live closer to Dumfries because we would absolutely love to come back. Thank you to everyone who...